DBU Staff Member Mitch Bennett Finishes Running a Half Marathon in All 50 States

Mitch Bennett came to DBU over 36 years ago, and throughout Dr. Gary Cook's time as President, Mitch served as one of his assistants. Now, Mitch is the Director of Gift Accounting and Assistant to the Chancellor, where he helps students find scholarships and assists Dr. Cook with his duties as Chancellor. He also works closely with the Advancement Office to ensure that donations are recorded correctly.

When Mitch Bennett was 11 years old, Dr. Gary Cook became the pastor at his church, the First Baptist Church of McGregor. Dr. Cook is known by all to be an avid runner, and he would often run to Mitch's house on his daily routes. Dr. Cook would encourage Mitch to join him for a stretch of his workout, and soon, they developed a route that became their routine to run together each day. "Dr. Cook would always challenge me to run with everything I had in me during the last block. He was such an encourager to me."

As Mitch entered high school and college, he continued to run short distances here and there, but the closest he came to participating in any races was completing the annual DBU Turkey Trot 5k. He never ran more than 3 miles at a time during this period. Mitch also experienced some knee and spinal problems, which caused him to take breaks from running for months or even years at a time. He continued to stay active by riding his bike and lifting weights, but out of concern about injuring himself further, he strayed away from running for a while.

Despite this, Mitch always felt a little jealous whenever he was on vacation in Hawaii and saw people running up Diamond Head on Oahu. "I would hike the distance every time, but I told myself year after year that 'one day,' I would run it, just like those athletes." In the fall of 2018, one of Mitch's coworkers, John Austin Earles, told him, "Mitch, today is a beautiful day for a run!" This seemingly insignificant comment stuck with Mitch all day, and as he walked to the DBU fitness center for his routine workout, he decided to run around Bush Pond instead to see if his knees or spine would give him any trouble. That day, he had a great run with no issues, so he continued running a mile or two a few times a week.

When Mitch traveled to Hawaii in January 2019, he decided to go on a three-mile run. After the three miles, Mitch was feeling great, so he decided to keep running. Mitch continued to run, and when he returned to the hotel, he was shocked to find out that he had just gone on a seven-mile run. Over the next few days, Mitch continued to run, and he managed to run 10 miles before he headed home from vacation. Once he returned, Mitch shared his accomplishment with a former staff member, Danny Hasset. Danny told Mitch, "If you can run 10 miles, you can easily run a half-marathon!" Mitch had never thought about doing a half-marathon, but Danny helped him prepare for his first race, the Bearathon at Baylor University.

Mitch ran the Bearathon and was surprised to finish it in under two hours. Afterward, one of Mitch's cousins asked if he would try to run one in all 50 states. "I laughed and told her 'no!'." Mitch continued to run half-marathons semi-often; he had even completed one in Illinois when he visited his sister there. Still, he had no plans to visit all 50 states.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, all of Mitch's races were canceled. Mitch was devastated because he did not want all his hard work and training to go to waste. Through his search, Mitch discovered an organization called Vacation Races. They hosted races near national parks across the United States and implemented several procedures to avoid being shut down due to the pandemic. Mitch traveled to Colorado to run in the Rocky Mountain Half, and then he traveled to Tennessee to run the Smoky Mountain Half. After these races, Mitch realized he had traveled to four states and run half-marathons in all of them. He discovered that he enjoyed exploring new states and seeing them through a race. Mitch continued running Vacation Races throughout 2021, and he began signing up for other races as COVID restrictions began to end.

A short time later, Mitch officially set the goal of running a half-marathon in all 50 states by his 65th birthday. This deadline would give him ten years to reach the goal. "Well, I get a little overzealous when I start a project. I ended up running in as many as 13 or 14 states per year. I ran my final race in Alaska with the Anchorage Mayor's Half on June 22, 2024. I accomplished my goal before my 60th birthday!"

Some of Mitch's favorite marathons were in beautiful states such as Montana and Michigan. In Montana, Mitch ran in the Glacier Park Half Marathon. The first several miles were uphill in this race, but Mitch barely noticed because he was amazed by the beauty around him. In Michigan, Mitch ran on Mackinac Island, a beautiful little island with only horses, wagons, and bicycles for transportation.

He also loved running in Philadelphia because the race took place in the Amish country, and the entire village came out to support the runners and provided dinner both the night before and after. Mitch also highlighted the Hartford Half in Connecticut, where he ran his personal record with a 1:45:37 final time. "It is hard for me to believe that I reached the 50-state challenge before my original goal, and I am so grateful that the Lord has given me the health to do this."

Outside of his 50-state challenge, Mitch ran half-marathons in England and Canada. In the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April 2023, he ran by historic landmarks with thousands of cheering fans in the streets. Mitch had to enter a lottery system to be chosen to participate, and his 2020 and 2021 submissions were canceled due to COVID-19, so he was very grateful to have this incredible experience in 2023.

The Lord has blessed Mitch throughout this entire journey. God repeatedly taught Mitch the importance of perseverance and persistence. Mitch continued to battle his previous injuries but refused to give up on his challenge. "The Lord also helped me with my self-confidence. I had never been successful athletically at anything, and now, in my latter years, I have achieved some goals that I never dreamed I would do."

Running has opened many new doors and relationships for Mitch. He has been blessed to run in local races with other DBU Faculty and Staff members, such as Dr. Shelly Melia, Dr. Brian Horn, Dr. Larry McHaney, and Al Spencer. Dr. Mark Martin also traveled with Mitch to run in Arkansas, Nevada, and Hawaii.

"People keep asking me what I am going to do next. All seven continents?" Mitch says while chuckling, "That's way too expensive! I am excited to continue running in different states. I look forward to running in new areas and am no longer afraid of booking a trip to a duplicate state. I am so grateful for all who have encouraged me on this journey; it has been so much fun!"